Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said early on July 20 that two oil tankers had detonated south of the Strait of Hormuz after trying to sail through Omani waters, incidents indicating that the strategic waterway would remain insecure while US military operations against Iran continued, IRNA reported.

In a statement, the IRGC) said the two “offending tankers”, acting “at the instigation and coercion” of the United States, had tried to enter and leave through what it called an “unsafe and accident-prone route” south of the strait before they “exploded and were brought to a halt”.

The Guards again warned that, as long as “America’s vicious acts in the region” continued, the conduit would not be secure “for the passage of chemical fertiliser or even a single drop of oil and gas.”

“The aggressor army should prepare for our punitive operation over this illegal violation,” the statement said.

The IRGC also urged ship operators not to be deceived into entering what it described as a mined shipping lane in order to protect vessels and, “more importantly”, the lives of their crews.

Hours earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of a fire aboard a vessel about eight nautical miles off Kumzar, an Omani port on the Persian Gulf at the northern tip of the country.

The Guards’ statement followed a similar claim on July 18, when they said two oil tankers attempting to transit the southern, mined route through the Strait of Hormuz at the urging of the United States had caught fire. The US military rejected that assertion.

Oman announced on June 23 that, in cooperation with the International Maritime Organization, it had established a temporary maritime corridor for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has rejected that route, insisting that all vessels coordinate with Iranian authorities and transit through the northern channel close to Iran’s coastline.

The strait has effectively remained closed since the war that began on February 28, when US and Israeli attacks on Iran prompted the Islamic Republic to target shipping in the chokepoint.

Iran has instructed tankers and cargo ships to use only the northern channels along its coast and to steer clear of the southern corridor near Oman, which has reportedly been mined.

The latest tensions come after Washington declared an interim peace arrangement signed with Iran on June 17 void earlier this month, accusing Tehran of attacking several vessels in the waterway, through which about 20% of global oil and LNG trade passes.

The United States has since reinstated its naval blockade of Iranian ports and has carried out nine consecutive nights of strikes on military targets and coastal civilian and maritime infrastructure, while Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks on US bases in Arab countries across the region.

Iran has also effectively walked away from its commitment under the peace memo to suspend its planned transit charges for 60 days.

Oil prices extended gains on July 20 as tensions continued to simmer. Brent crude rose 3.14% to $90.87 a barrel, its highest level since June 11, after surging 15.9% last week, its biggest weekly gain since April.

US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 2.85% to $84.84 a barrel, its highest since June 12, following a 15.5% weekly surge, the strongest since early March.